Yet another early start, but after a chilled-out time in Denver we were quite fresh. We had muffins and Starbucks in the taxi to Aurora, where we were to pick up the RV. Becuase this was RV Day (D Day in military speak!): the bit we were sort of dreading – driving something the size of a bus across stark desert on the wrong side of the road for 8 hours! So, with some trepidation, we arrived at the Apollo RV rental centre and there waiting for us was our RV – all gleaming white and new. First impression was that it was not quite as big as we had imagined (in our nightmares) so we relaxed a little. After the paperwork we had to sit through a video which told us everything we needed to know (so they said). Then we had to inspect the vehicle and the guy showed us all the bits and pieces – basically, all the things that could go horribly wrong – just what we needed! One thing we latched onto immediately was that if you don’t turn the propane gas knob to the off position when putting fuel in the RV you can be incinerated and burned to a crisp – I made a note of that one on the edge of my USA Today! Before we left we were given the opportunity to buy various things – a stack of toilet paper – ‘special’ RV paper. We took two packs just in case. Two bottles of spray to clean the toilet and sink plugs as things “can get a bit smelly” without that. You can see there’s a bit of a toilet theme developing here. Maybe more of that later. We turned down the BBQ and the camping lamp (we regretted leaving the lamp later on). Oh, and we hired the GPS (or Sat Nav as the Brits say).
So the moment arrived when there was noting left to do but drive the thing to Utah. The trick, of course, was to look cool about the whole thing and not show ourselves to be what we really were – nervous brits without a clue. The biggest danger was turning. Our hope was that it would be a 300 mile dead straight road without any bends – no such luck. I was to drive first (lucky me) and so, when I could not put it off any longer, I stepped into the driver’s seat (looking really cool, of course) and started the engine.
Our first mission was to get half a mile down the road to the supermarket to stock up on essentials. Believe me, it felt like an attempt on the north face of Everest! I know, I’m exagerating – a little – but you can see how I was feeling. The thought of crashing the thing right in front of the rental car park was not a nice thought. Anyway, back to the turning thing. You have to make sure your back wheels are clear of the corner before you actually start turning. You’ve seen bus drivers do this. Luckily, it turned out to be much easier than I had expected (surprise, surprise) and with stern concentration we set off.
Five minutes later – mission accomplished and we parked up in the supermarket car park, not quite between the lines!! We rushed around gathering all the stuff we would need from a bewildering array of options. I was just day-dreaming about how long I would drive before handing over to Rachel when, completely oblivious to it all, Rachel clipped the end of the isle with the back of her trolley sending the crisps display teetering on the edge of collapse. I knew immediately, in that moment, that I would be driving the whole 8 hours to Moab!!
So, back on the road and really getting the hang of it, I glanced in the mirror only to see blue flashing lights speeding up behind me. It’s surprising what goes through your mind in that split second. Images of a cell in a state penitentiary, abuse on a grand scale handed out to a wimpy brit by tough, hard-nosed drug runners and murderers. Does Colarado have the death penalty? I pulled over onto the hard shoulder, turned the engine off and waited. Rachel hadn’t believed me when I said we were being pulled over but then what looked like a 12 year old boy in an officer’s uniform tapped on the window – Rachel’s window and said “Hi, how’s it going?”. I had one or two answers to that question but thought better of it. All I could see was his head and shoulders above the window line but I knew there would be a gun somewhere. I consciously decided (this is the truth) to make no sudden movements, just in case. He asked us questions about who we were, where we had been, where we were going, did we have ID etc etc. Thankfully, Rachel’s story of events matched mine exactly so we were doing good, as they say in these here parts! He said the reason he had pulled us over was because we didn’t have a valid tax disc on the front windscreen. Phew, that was a relief. He was right. He showed us a piece of paper cellotaped to where the tax disc should have been. It was a temporary notice that the rental company was waiting for the disc to arrive – ok in most states, but not in Colorado. We acted ignorant (we didn’t have to act much!) and he asked for my driving license. He said he would have to “check it out” and walked back to his car. Now, many more things flew through my mind, not very nice things. Had I ever been convicted of anything and not actually known about it? Was that even possible? He took far too long for my liking but eventually came back to our window. “Now I’m not going to give you a ticket or anything like that, but take this”, he said and handed me what looked like a ticket! He said we might need it to show the next officer that pulled us over for the same thing, just so he wouldn’t have to check us out again. He bid us a safe journey and left. We got back onto the road and, heart rates normalising, we headed for the state border like a couple of outlaws.
Thankfully, the rest of the drive was uneventful, apart from the wonderful scenery we encountered. We drove through the Rocky Mountains. Trust me when I say that they were even more impressive than anything we had imagined. The ski resorts looked almost Swiss-like, with giant timber hotels and lodges with impossibly sloping roofs and ski lifts to the mountain tops. But no snow. We crossed the whole of the state of Colorado and the further west we went the more the scenery became more desert-like – reds and browns against the clear blue sky. It was an exiting moment when we crossed the border, not only because we had outrun the police, but because of the anticipation of the towering spires of rock we has seen only in pictures. However, the country opened out into a vast undulating landscape with only distant peaks visible on the horizon. But it wasn’t long before the Utah we had expected began to emerge and we took the first opportunity to stop at a viewing point:
You know that feeling when you know you are witnessing something truely remarkable? This was it. We both felt it. And the landscape kept improving until we reached Moab and the KOA Camp Ground where we were to stay for the next few days.
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